Time After Time
by Nymphadora Florida
Summary: When Percy returns home after three years, emotions run haywire. With the revealing Percy does of his engagement to Penelope, not everyone is excited. Basically fluff: 'If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting, time after time'.


Time After Time

"If you lost, you can look, you will find me…time after time…"

The Weasley's doorbell rang with a start at four o'clock in the morning. Mr. Weasley yawned and stretched, grabbed his wand and slowly picked himself up and walked downstairs. "Hello? Whoz this?" he said through the door, but all he heard was a large thump, and some muttering. He peered through the keyhole and recognized the small heap outside. He opened the door. "Percy? Percy?" he said, shaking him. The young man didn't move, but only muttered something under his breath.

"Voldemort."

"What? You-know-who? Where? Percy?"

"Voldemort," repeated Percy, lifting up his head to look at his father.

Mr. Weasley picked up his son by the shoulders, dragged him inside and laid him on the couch. He ran outside and gathered his two suitcases, which he threw beside the couch, and he ran upstairs to wake Molly.

"Molly! Molly!" he said, shaking his wife out of her sleep.

"What?" she said groggily, slowly opening her eyes. "Arthur it's only four fifteen, I don't have to get up for another three hours.

"It's Percy…"

"Percy! We haven't heard from Percy since last year…"

"He rang the doorbell and fainted…he's laying down on the couch and…"

"Oh…I hoped he would come home soon…" said Mrs. Weasley, throwing on her dressing gown and slippers as she ran down the stairs.

"Now, Molly…he's really fragile and he looks pale…maybe we should leave him alone…" said Mr. Weasley, trying to reason with his excited wife as he ran down the stairs after him.

"Oh, don't be silly Arthur…he's my son and I haven't seen him for three years…" she said, abruptly stopping and screaming at the sight of her unconscious son.

"Yeah…meant to talk to you about that…" murmured Arthur, though he was drowned out by her high pitched screams, and the rustle of three people running down the stairs.

"What did mum scream about?" said Bill.

"Is everything alright?" asked Charlie.

"Why is everybody huddled around the couch?" asked Ron.

Mrs. Weasley covered her mouth with her hands, shocked at Percy's state. She murmured a quick spell under her breath, Percy coughed and muttered something.

"Mum?" he asked her hoarsely, turning around to face her.

"Yes, Percy, it's me…" she said, on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's perfectly alright, dear."

"Why mum talking to the couch?" asked Ron.

"Bloody hell…" muttered Charlie.

"About time…" said Bill.

"Boys…wake the others…they ought to know what's going on…" said Mr. Weasley, shooing his boys up the stairs to wake up the other members of the family and their loved ones.

It was, after all, the summer holiday, and Mrs. Weasley had tried her best to make sure everybody was happy. Fleur, Tonks, Fred, George, Angelina, Alicia, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were all asleep upstairs, enjoying the time they all would spend together over the next few weeks.

"Arthur…" breathed Mrs. Weasley, "Should we take him to St. Mungo's?"

"No, my dear. I think he just needs rest. He looks exhausted from his journey…"

"Do you know where he traveled from?"

"No. He just said the word 'You-Know-Who' and then he fainted."

"Good Lord…" whispered Mrs. Weasley, sitting on the couch where Percy lay. She stroked his cheek. "Percy…it's mum…talk to me sweetheart…"

"Mum?" he asked softly, regaining consciousness.

"Yes, dear…"

"V-Voldemort…"

"Yes, Percy…"

"Vanished."

"Vanished, dear?"

"Again. For the third time this month. Kingsley was doing a report on him when he appeared at Fudge's house. Though, Fudge wasn't there, so he left Fudge a message, giving him three days to comply or else death."

Mrs. Weasley stared into her son's eyes. Percy looked around and saw his brothers and their friends staring wide-eyed at him. "Hey…everybody…er…"

"We…" started Fred.

"Heard…" continued George.

"Everything," said Bill.

"Oh, Percy are you alright?" asked Hermione, tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, Hermione and I were really worried about you…" said Ginny.

"According to Bill, you 'aven't talked to us in years," said Fleur.

"Do you need to go to St. Mungo's?" asked Tonks.

"It's about time you came for a visit," said Bill angrily.

"We were wondering when you were going to show up at our doorstep…" said Charlie.

The questions went on and on for hours as Percy answered them, one by one in the Weasley's cramped living room. It was mid-afternoon when the Weasleys heard another ring at their doorbell. Fearful of who this could be, Mr. Weasley approached with caution. "Who's there?" he asked, looking through the peephole.

"My name is Penelope Clearwater, and I'm looking for Percy Weasley," said a young woman's voice.

"Penny! Let her in, dad!" yelled Percy, scrambling towards the door as his father opened it.

"Percy, dear, you _do_ need to tell me where you're going more often…wha…" started Penelope, though she was interrupted by Percy's lips kissing her. She kissed him back.

"Oh, Penny! Where've you been darling?" he asked her sweetly through her mouth. The rest of the family stared at them in shock and surprise, though Ginny giggled.

"Heh…nothing's changed in six years…" she said to Hermione, who giggled with her.

"Darling, we should stop…parents…brothers…later…" whispered Penelope.

"Right," said Percy, grinning.

"Everybody, this is Penelope Clearwater…my fiancé," said Percy proudly.

Nobody was surprised; Percy and Penelope had been dating for three years now.

"About time!" said Fred.

"We didn't think you two would ever get married!" said George.

"Now, Fred, now George, we should treat poor Penelope with respect. Let me take your coat, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, grabbing Penelope's sweatshirt and hanging it in the closet.

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," said Penelope, sitting down next to Percy on the couch.

"So…how long have you two been engaged?" asked Mr. Weasley, expecting the worst.

"Two months," said Percy, grabbing Penelope's hand and kissing it.

"Have you set a date yet?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she arranged the closet.

"Er…well…" started Penelope.

"No," finished Percy.

"That's quite alright, dears. It'll come when you both are ready for it."

"So…what's changed since I last talked to you?"

"Why would you care?" growled Fred.

"It's not like you give a damn anyways!" yelled George.

"Stop it, both of you! You're acting like four year olds! Really! He's your brother and you know that you love him, and you've missed him!"

"It's because of him that we're considered 'a disgrace to the family'!" said Fred, continuing to growl at Percy.

"Yeah, we sure haven't made anything better, because you've made everything worse!" hollered George.

"Shut the hell up, Fred. You don't have the right to talk to him that way!" said Angelina, holding him back from pouncing on his brother below him. Too late for George, who had already punched his brother's nose, when Fred entered the fight, making sure Percy would always regret the day he betrayed the Weasleys…

Mrs. Weasley shrieked and cried over and over again, while Mr. Weasley tried to pull the twins off of poor Percy.

"Boys! Boys! Stop!" he yelled, finally prying Fred off of Percy with Charlie's help, as Ron and Bill did the same to George. Mrs. Weasley rushed over to Percy, looking at the damage her own sons had done to him.

"How dare you!" she said through tears. "Your own flesh and blood…" she sobbed, as she ran into the kitchen to wet some towels and washrags to clean Percy up.

Penelope looked as if she'd been the one beat up. "What'd he do to you to deserve this?" she said, tears welling up in her eyes. "He ran away from you and that's all! That's all!" she said, running to the kitchen to help Mrs. Weasley.

Fred and George looked at each other, each with a bloody lip from Percy's miniscule punch.

"I am greatly disappointed in you boys," said Mr. Weasley sternly. "I know you're upset with Percy but you had no right to treat him this way, or to beat him up."

"If I didn't love you so much, I'd dump you right now, you do know that, don't you Fredrick Arthur?" asked Angelina from behind the couch.

"Yes, dear, I know that…" stuttered Fred.

"I'm in agreement with Angelina, Mr. George Bilius," said Alicia sternly.

"I know, darling…" said George, looking at his feet.

"We'll talk later…" said Angelina in Fred's ear before she and Alicia stalked upstairs.

"Well…now that the excitement's over…I'm going back to bed…" said Tonks, yawning and stretching in her old 'Weird Sisters' t-shirt and plaid pajama pants.

"I am coming, too," said Fleur, following Tonks up the stairs.

"Need any more help down here, dad?" asked Bill.

"No, son. You going off to bed, too?"

"Actually I was going to ask you if I could do some of my work down here…"

"Sure. The secretary's open," said Mr. Weasley, pointing to the old cherry secretary in the corner.

Penelope Clearwater entered the girl's room and dropped her duffel bag in the corner. She watched the sleeping young women as she conjured up her own bed into the already cramped room. Fleur opened her eyes as Penelope sat on her bed.

"Are you Percy's girlfriend?" asked Fleur, walking over to Penelope to greet her.

"Yeah…" said Penelope.

"Je 'mapelle Fleur Delacour."

"Yeah, ok," said Penelope, dazed. Fleur giggled.

"I just told you my name in French."

"Sorry, I only speak English, Latin, Spanish and German, but not French."

"Ah."

"Hey, Fleur…can I talk to you?"

"Yes, I was 'oping you would ask me that."

"Well…Percy and I are engaged but…"

"Oh, Penelope…being engaged c'est magnifique! You get to spent countless hours with your fiancé…ah…le joys! I personally adore being engaged!" she exclaimed, flopping down on her back on her bed.

"You're engaged, too?" Penelope asked her, sitting on Fleur's bed.

"Oui, Oui! For six months now, my cherie, Billy and I 'ave been engaged," she said, sitting up.

"Really? You like being engaged more than being just boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Oh, yes. The thrill of knowing when you wake up that someday soon you will be a married woman with a wonderful man permanently in your life!"

"Wow, I never thought about it that way. No more dating?"

"No, unless you date him!"

"No more spontaneous love?"

"What do you think you have a husband for? Spontaneous love is what they're all about! If you think about it, Penelope, instead of seeing him only on week nights or on the weekends, you'll see him every day of the rest of your life! Simply because he loves you and you love him. You wake up in the morning and look next to you, he's there. You look out the window at four o'clock when he gets home from work, he's there. When you need a shoulder to cry on, he is your shoulder. If you think about it, marriage is the most precious thing in the world," said Fleur, both happily and dreamily.

And finally Penelope understood.

"If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting…time after time…"

"So…you're engaged to Penelope, Percy…" said Bill as Percy sat on the couch, a hot pack on his forehead.

"Yeah…she's great."

"You don't sound to thrilled about it, bro."

"Well…I love her and all…I just hate how this family is so…prying about my social life…"

"I know what you mean. Fleur and I got engaged six months ago and Mum and Dad actually threw us an engagement party, with all the relatives. Fleur adapts easily to the party environment…but me…I've been scarred for life ever since…"

Percy chuckled. "Anybody else get engaged?"

"No…but we think Charlie and Tonks are thinking about it…phew…you're lucky you haven't ever seen _them_ snogging…that experience scarred me for life, too."

"Tell me about it…Penelope's brother snogs with his girlfriend right in front of Penny's parents…"

"Well, you did…"

"But that doesn't count. I haven't seen her in two months…"

"You didn't go out on a date with her since you got engaged to her?" asked Bill, turning around the chair from his paperwork.

"Er…well…we were both really busy…and she just got promoted to intensive care nurse at St. Mungo's…and I'm assistant to the Minister, who's been partying lately to promote himself all the time…and of course I had to be there…and when I wasn't, I was doing paperwork and…"

"Yeah…I get it. But you could've talked to us much less your own fiancé."

"Well…you all seemed reluctant to talk to me. I've heard things about this family over the past couple years you wouldn't believe…"

"Really? Try me."

"Well…there was this rumor that Hermione was going out with Draco…and they did it on a Saturday night…and supposedly, Ron came in and started to beat up Malfoy and then Dad was egging him on and…"

"You believed this one?"

"No. But I did believe the one that was about you."

"What'd you hear about me? Me? Halfway across the world? You've gotta be kidding me!"

"No, seriously. I heard that the Egyptian Death Eaters came and killed Fleur, so you went after them and killed them all in one spell. And then you found out that they only captured Fleur and didn't kill her…so…yeah. That one was really weird…"

"But somehow quite possible. Not that it happened or anything…but it _could_ have happened."

At this moment, Fleur and Penny came down the stairs to join them. Fleur came up behind Bill and laid her head on his shoulder. "Zis Penny taught me a new muggle song that she said related to you and me and her and Percy," she said, pressing her lips to his automatically.

"You are educating French, now, Penny?" asked Percy as Penelope came to snuggle up to her wimpy yet charming fiancé.

"Yes…she is a very good learner…and a great singer."

"Not better than you, I trust?" he asked, taking her head and laying it upon his chest.

"Ready to sing, Fleur?" asked Penny, winking at Fleur.

"Yes. One, two, three four…"

"Lying in bed I hear the clock tick and I think of you, Caught up in circles, confusion is nothing new. Flashbacks warm nights almost left behind Suitcase and memories time after. Sometimes you picture me, I'm walking too far ahead  
You're calling to me I can't hear what you say.

And you say go slow, I fall behind  
Second hand unwind  
If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting  
Time after time  
If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting  
Time after time

After my picture fades and darkness has turned to gray  
Watching through windows you're wondering if I'm ok  
Secrets stolen from deep inside  
The drum beats out of time  
time after time…" they said in unison and swiftly kissed their husbands.

"If you're lost, you can look and you will find me, time after time…" murmured Bill.

"If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting, time after time…" murmured Percy.

"I've found you, Bill," said Fleur softly.

"I've caught you, Percy…and I will…time after time.


End file.
